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Hi! Welcome back to my Aurora Designs Jewelry’s blog post! It’s been a while…no excuses for the long absence, just didn’t do it. BUT, Brenda Lansdowne from http://www.bsueboutiques.com, challenged us again, and who can resist that cute face when she issues a challenge! So, here I am participating in the “Change It Up” Blog Hop. We were tasked to choose one of the pieces in the photo below, from http://www.bsueboutiques.com, and make it into something unrecognizable from the original piece. I want to share my journey and my processes through a pictorial journal. Please follow along with me on my journey to my finished piece and see how I “Changed It Up”.

This is the piece I selected to use for my “Change It Up, Vintage Flair” Blog Hop

This is how I started to “change it up”. I separated each necktie and cut off the small tabs that connected them.

I added some texture to each piece with my texturing hammer, for cool interest. I wanted it to show well after I colored the pieces.

Soldering station set up and ready to solder some of the pieces. I hadn’t soldered in quite a while, so I just went with what I remembered from the class I took a long time ago.

Needed to do a bit of bending and forming to get the shape I want with a bracelet bending pliers, my husband’s vise, and some brute strength.

Picked some B’sue focal pieces from my stash and added some color with alcohol inks. Can you see where I’m going yet?

Cold connected the focal pieces with a screw, washer, and nut, and realized it looked similar to a red and black cabachon from B’sue’s supply website.

Anyone who knows ME, knows I always need to have some BLING! Do you recognize these red pieces?

I decided it needed a touch of PearlEx powder here and there. I glued the pearl into the center and put some red Perfect Pearls on it, then sealed the whole thing. Wasn’t crazy about the red pearl, so…I “changed it up”. You’ll see it in the final photo.

After painting and sealing the sides, it was time to connect the focal to the the sides. Some gluing and clamping works for that. Now it sets for twenty-four hours.

After waiting for twenty four hours for the glue to set, I took the clamps off and when I was making an adjustment to one of the sides, it came off!! I was not worried. I just decided to cold connect the cuff sides to the center focal. Took it apart and started cold connecting. When I finished that process, I repainted the whole thing, and sealed it. Now I present to you, my Change It Up, Vintage Flair Gothic Cuff.

Before I started my Challenge piece, I decided that I would not start another new piece until I had cleaned up EVERY half finished piece at all three stations on my large kitchen table, so away I went, working five to six hours a day, non stop. I was inspired by my friend Jann Tague of Clever Designs, when she was here for a play date a couple weeks ago (we played with resin that day, and I made a bunch of cabachons in my mold), and she started digging (literally), through my stuff on the table. She kindly sorted out a bunch of things for me, and point blank told me to “git ‘er done!” So I began working on all the things on my table. Many only needed chains/neck treatment to be finished. (I have a hard time with that sometimes.) Then, I posted them on our B’sue Boutiques Creative Group Page last Friday and Saturday for FUF (Finished Up Friday). It felt SOOOOOO good to have finished about half of what was on my work table. Here are photos of some of the finished pieces and my Work Table photo for this past Wednesday’s WTW (Work Table Wednesday). Once I finish what is on there, I will have fewer than ten pieces left to finish. Then, I can start my FALL Themed pieces!

Pretty Black and Gold medium assemblage with vintage rosary chain.

Large blue polymer clay flower with a Swarovski rivoli center, and brass ox book chain.

This altered piece had been on my work table for over a year. Rhinestone chain accent and book chain finished it.

I beaded the focal pieces and couched them onto altered pieces from b’sueboutiques, and added some chain to complete the cuff.

Here is a preview of one of my fall themed pieces, a beautiful rusty orange sunflower necklace.

One of the resin cabachons that I colored with Perfect Pearls and Mica Chips, them made into a pretty brooch.

This is what I have left to finish on my work table. I will have them finished by the end of next week. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, now. WOOHOO!!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog post and following along in my process for “CHANGING IT UP”, and seeing some of my creations. I love working in mixed media and love being in such a loving, supportive, encouraging group of people. Brenda Sue Landsdowne is an awesome mentor, and she has the absolute BEST supplies and perks on her website, http://www.bsueboutiques.com. I hope you’ll check out her site and while you’re there, be sure to click on the Design Team page and read about my journey. Thanks for reading, and I will be ever so appreciative if you will leave a kind comment and share and like my blog post.

I leave you with this thought.

The list of participants is below and they all have made some amazing creations. To join the Hop, just click on the next name’s url below mine, and away you go. Please leave them a kind comment, too. I know they’ll appreciate it!!

I’m Marcia Tuzzolino owner, designer, and creator of Aurora Designs Jewelry.I am one of 56 members of B’sue Boutiques Creative Group on Facebook, who is participating in the Build a Line Challenge sponsored by that group. Our mentor and master class instructor is Brenda Sue Lansdowne, who is the owner of https://www.bsueboutiques.com, a jewelry supply company. I am very new to blogging and this is my very first Blog Hop. This is Part One, of three. I will share a bit about myself and my background, photos of my designs, past and present, and tell you here in Part One, why I chose to participate in this Build a Line Challenge master class. The Challenge runs from January, 2015, through March, 2015, and there will be two more Blog Hops; Part Two, February 20, and Part Three-Final Reveal, March 20, when we will reveal our completed Line. We will talk about our journeys and processes as we create our cohesive lines of jewelry (a minimum of five pieces).

That’s Me!

Purple Tulip Variety

Bridal Necklace St. Petersburg stitch

I began making jewelry in 2007 at my local bead shop and started my business, Aurora Designs Jewelry, in 2009. I have a passion for creating a variety of jewelry, and am now able to do it full time since I retired three years ago. I have taken many, many, classes in a variety of media, including beading, wire work, soldering, polymer clay and assemblage. I quickly learned that I have a knack for designing and creating beautiful jewelry using beads, paints, inks, and other materials to alter the color and look of my pieces. From there, I moved to teaching a few classes of my original designs in beading and wire work.

About two and a half years ago, I joined the B’sue Boutiques Creative Group on Facebook, at the invitation of one of my friends, and was introduced to the world of mixed media and vintage jewelry and assemblage. B’sue Boutiques is owned by Brenda Sue Lansdowne, and she teaches free video classes on YouTube. After ordering some of her high quality, made in the USA, brass components, I watched her video on making assemblage necklaces. I promptly sat down and made two assemblage necklaces (photos below); one, a Steampunk (I didn’t even know what that was), “Take Time to Smell the Roses”, and a statement period piece, “Going to the Ball”.

Take Time to Smell the Roses

Going to the Ball Period Piece

The rest, as they say, “is history”. I am continuing to grow in my business and creativity, became a member of Brenda’s Design Team (found on her website, https://www.bsueboutiques.com), and decided to participate in the Build a Line Challenge.

Components for the Challenge

My Sketch Pad

My Work Table

More Coloring opened Tulip Beads

Pencil Sketches

Design #1 orange red tulip beads

Coloring the opened Tulip Beads

Some Swarovski Bling

More components for additional designs

Have you guessed what I’m doing for my Line? Yep, it’s TULIP BEADS!! I love tulips! They are my favorite flowers and there are over three thousand varieties!! So, I have four different designs I am going to make for my Line. You may not recognize them as a standard looking tulip when I am finished, but they will all be made with the TULIP BEADS in different sizes and finishes from https://www.bsueboutiques.com. I am manipulating them into different shapes, stacking them, coloring them, and fastening them together, then adding a few other things for variety. Easily reproduced and changed up quickly for variety…I won’t have three thousand varieties like the tulips in nature, though! Can you imagine? Here is a little peek at what I have done so far for Aurora Designs Jewelry‘s Line of Tulips.

Design #1 Colored Tulip Beads

Design #1 Colored Tulip Beads

Purple Tulip given to me by my friend, Jann

These can be made into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and brooches. I will have at least five pieces in my Line with a color scheme of blues, reds, yellows, and metallic. Accent colors will be secondary to the primary colors, and include tangerine, purple, green, and cream. And, any of you who know me, know that I must have some bling in there somewhere!

I will be blogging about my journey through this Design a Line Challenge, as I build my Line. I will be very appreciative if you will leave comments, follow my blog, reblog, like, tweet, and share my blog with your friends and families. Thank you for visiting and I look forward to showing you more in our Part Two Blog Hop on February 20.